I’ve always thought that Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes remake is the worst entry in the franchise, but the one redeemable quality of the film still impresses me 23 years later. Tim Burton’s 2001 remake of the classic sci-fi franchise could have ushered in a wonderful new age for Planet of the Apes, with the film pairing one of the most beloved directors of the time with the franchise that had then been dormant for a while. However, Burton’s Planet of the Apes is considered a failure, although it succeeded in this one major way.

The Planet of the Apes franchise has always been one of my favorite sci-fi series. I was first introduced to the franchise through the modern films, with Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the subsequent Matt Reeves Planet of the Apes movies making me fall in love with the world. However, I gained an even greater appreciation for the franchise when I went back and watched the original series, which I also fell in love with. Then, I knew that there was only one Planet of the Apes timeline that I hadn’t yet explored: Tim Burton’s notorious remake.

The Planet Of The Apes Remake’s Prosthetics Are Still Remarkable 23 Years Later

They Are The Best In The Franchise

Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes remake has a lot wrong with it, but the one thing that it got right are the ape prosthetics. Rather than going with CGI to create the film’s evolved apes, the Tim Burton movie instead hearkened back to the original movies by using advanced makeup and prosthetics on the actors to create the titular creatures, with them being made by artist Rick Baker. The practical apes in the Planet of the Apes remake were astounding for the time, and I believe that the film contains the best-looking practical apes in the franchise.

Even after over two decades have passed, the practical apes in Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes remake still look fantastic. Due to the industry shifting away from practical effects and more toward CGI, there hasn’t been nearly as much evolution in these practical makeup effects as there once was, with Burton’s film being one of the final movies released before the tide of Hollywood changed. Burton’s practical apes still stand out amid the heavily used CGI of modern movies, and I still think that they look remarkable after all these years.

What Went Wrong With Tim Burton’s Planet Of The Apes Remake

It Was A Lot…

Although the special effects were handled masterfully, a lot of other things went wrong with Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes remake. The film wasn’t different enough from the 1968 original to stand on its own, but what it did change was a significant downgrade from the original movie. Burton’s style clashed with the tone of the earlier Planet of the Apes films, and the remake simply wasn’t as subtle or charming as the beloved sci-fi classic.

Another major point of contention was the ending of Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes remake. The remake heavily departed from the iconic twist ending from the original film, with the remake instead concluding with Mark Wahlberg’s character returning home to find that General Thade has turned modern Earth into an ape-themed dystopia, complete with a Lincoln Memorial that looks like Thade. I and many other viewers weren’t sure what to make of this confusing ending, with it being one of the most infamous parts of the franchise.

Why The Planet Of The Apes Franchise Switched To CG Apes In 2011

It Was Necessary For The Prequel Story

The Planet of the Apes movies went dormant again after the failure of Tim Burton’s reboot, with it not returning until the release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes in 2011. This time, the film opted to use computer-generated apes, departing from the practical apes that the franchise had used up until this point. This change came from a variety of reasons, with one of the most obvious ones being that, since the modern movies are prequels, the apes should look normal rather than like the evolved apes.

On top of that, the increase in technology allowed the CG apes to be cheaper and more realistic than ever before, with the use of them allowing for Rise of the Planet of the Apes to implement mind-blowing technology. I believe that the CG apes definitely work for the modern series better than practical effects would have, but that doesn’t take away from how good Tim Burton’s practical apes look in his Planet of the Apes remake.